Economic Impact
See also: Chilean wheat cycle and Chilean silver rushThe independence wars in Chile (1810–1818) and Peru (1809–1824) had a negative impact on the Chilean wheat industry. Trade was disrupted and armies in Chile pillaged the countryside. The Guerra a muerte phase was particularly destructive and ended only to see a period of outlaw banditry (e.g. Pincheira brothers) occur until the late 1820s. Trade with Peru did not fully recover after the independence struggles.
The Chilean ruling elite adopted a free trade policy already in 1811 with the "Decreto de Libre Comercio". This allowed the country in the mid-19th century to exploit the opportunities that the California Gold Rush and the Australian gold rushes created for exporting wheat.
Read more about this topic: Timeline Of The Chilean War Of Independence
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